ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the issues of selection and sampling in relation to qualitative research. It argues that it is rarely feasible to combine the intensive data collection and analysis characteristic of qualitative research with the procedures of probability sampling. This means that most qualitative studies are unable to make the kinds of robust claims to statistical representativeness that such procedures allow. The chapter also discusses some of the approaches that qualitative researchers employ as they adopt a strategic and principled approach to the selection of informants and settings through which to pursue the objectives of their research. These are of utmost significance to commissioners who are making research funding decisions and to research consumers as they assess the relevance of findings from qualitative research to the settings or settings for which they are responsible.
